City of Minneapolis launches Hennepin bus lanes

The City of Minneapolis and Metro Transit rolled out its new bus lanes along Hennepin Avenue, between Franklin Avenue and Lake Street, on Friday.

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The bus-only lanes are bright red and will be used during busy weekday periods.

New bus lanes are marked in red in Minneapolis.

KSTP

Mayor Jacob Frey said it’s a great solution for the challenges people face on a daily basis.

“This right here is a corridor that perhaps has some of the most traffic of anywhere in this state. Oftentimes people are driving, the average pace is 6 miles per hour, but one of the ways you help that is being a champion of public transportation,” said Frey.

The new bus lane hours will operate northbound from 7-9 a.m. and southbound from 4-6:30 p.m.

Some drivers and business owners aren't happy because the lanes take up parking spaces. But, parking will be allowed in the curb lane at all other times.

Metro Transit said bus drivers and riders like the idea because it keeps routes on time.

“We are taking up just a little bit of road space, but we are moving a lot of people. That’s exciting for us, but we need to do it quickly and reliably. We need to be a good alternative that makes sense so people are able to leave their cars at home, park them and then hop on our bus to be able to get in and out of town quickly,” said Brian Funk, with Metro Transit.

City leaders said they plan to expand the bus-only lanes to other areas, including portions of Nicollet Avenue this fall.